WOMANISM
Where has the loyalty gone?
Last summer, Megan Thee Stallion named Tory Lanez as the man responsible for shooting her. Shooting an unarmed Black woman who was “trying to leave the vehicle” is shameful. However, what’s even more disturbing than this one-off incident is how Black men responded to it.
I can already hear the “not all Black men” roaring in the background. So, yes, let’s go there. Rick Ross provided a perfect example of what that support looks like. For some, calling Lanez out may have broken the bro code, but I’m glad Ross didn’t buy into that. As reported in Billboard:
4 Ways to recover.
Despite heightened awareness, Black Lives Matter, multiple marches, protests and even Derek Chauvin’s conviction, scores of Black people still died in the year after George Floyd’s death at the brutal hands of reckless, misguided police officers and other hate-motivated people.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations reports that anti-Black crimes continue to be the single largest category of hate crime incidents. The latest information is for 2019, but with more people emerging from Covid-19’s cover post-vaccine, it’s reasonable to think that the number and intensity of hate crimes and so-called ‘casual racism” attacks against people of color could escalate.
Experiencing racial…
The way she is being treated goes to show the inherent racism in sports
My Grandma Jane always used to say: “Don’t forget, as a Black person, if you do something wrong, the world will not treat you the same way they treat a White person. The world will treat you a lot more harshly.”
These words came to my mind this morning as I learned that Sha’Carri Richardson wasn’t selected by USA Track & Field to run the 4x100 meter relay at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.
During Olympics tryouts last month, Richardson had consumed cannabis recreationally while in Oregon (a state in which the substance is legal, by the way), upon…
BLACK SCHOLARSHIP MATTERS
How the activist-scholar stared down the belly of the beast
Right now, Nikole Hannah-Jones deserves a round of applause. Whether you love her or hate her, it’s time to admit she won the culture war. While conservatives started the conflict, she ended it with poise. So, how did Hannah-Jones stare into the belly of the beast and come out triumphant? Let’s unpack this.
Ever since becoming the lead contributor for the New York Times’ 1619 Project, Hannah-Jones’ journalism has taken center stage, winning her the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. Before this, she received the MacArthur Fellowship in 2017, also known as the “Genius Grant.” …
New Column Alert: My Pen Is Mighty
Want to understand how African American cuisine transformed America? Ask a sista.
Jessica B. Harris is having a moment. It’s been exactly 10 years since she wrote High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America. Now it’s back on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
This is due to the rousing success of Netflix’s High on the Hog travelogue series on how Black foodways have heavily impacted American cuisine. While the series dropped in late May, its historical context and poignant storylines will resonate with viewers for years to come. Women figure prominently in this series.
It begins, of course, with Harris, a PhD whose award-winning book inspired…
Nonperformative diversity is a game-changer for Chicago’s Art Institute
The Obama portraits are home in Chicago, as they should be. Don’t get me wrong. I fully understand that the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art serves as caretaker for the life-size presidential portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, but there is something truly special about going to the Art Institute of Chicago to see a well-designed, spacious, brightly lit exhibition of the Black-artist-created imagery of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in the city that made them.
I remember when these portraits were revealed and placed on display in February 2018 in Washington, D.C. Everyone I…
How you can help pass the For the People Act
Summertime has finally arrived. After a lengthy pandemic-inspired hibernation, many women feel excited about their hot-girl summer plans. Tourism around the globe has recently hit record heights. And while these vacations are well-deserved, conservative voter suppression tactics are surging. Systemic racism does not take time off, but that does not mean Black women have to stick to the picket line to make a difference.
According to MSNBC : “Stacey Abrams has launched her ‘Hot Call Summer’ campaign to get Congress to pass the For the People Act. The ‘Hot Call Summer’ campaign asks supporters to call their U.S. …
“It seems like we as a country have yet to figure out what it means to celebrate Black people.”
Like many Black folks, I am perpetually exhausted by seeing the unexciting trend of a White person doing things that Black folks do every day and getting applause, clout, and cookout invitations for paying attention to Black culture. More egregious recent events have given way to popular discourse about gatekeeping Black culture, but it seems like we as a country have yet to figure out what it means to celebrate Black people.
In the present moment, many organizations are attempting to pay their just due from last summers’ racial reckonings with calls to buy Black, support Black businesses, and commemorate…
Was the summer of 2020 a wake-up call, a reckoning or a revolution?
With six months under our belts in 2021, many have begun to refer to 2020 as the “lost year.” Twenty-twenty was the year that brought us so much — trauma, a reset, inner peace, anxiety. Essentially, it was a basket case of a year. If you are Black, however, it brought with it the persistent reminder that even in the midst of a global pandemic, where a trip to the grocery store could land you in the hospital or worse, being Black in America was still just as deadly as contracting Covid-19. …
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
Choosing yourself is revolutionary
First and foremost, Naomi Osaka is an amazing athlete. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion. However, as a Haitian-Japanese woman, Osaka has faced tremendous pressure on and off the court. After using her platform to speak against racial injustices, the backlash came swiftly. When athletes faced harsh critiques for branching out beyond the realm of sports, Osaka stood firm in her conviction. Some of her motivation comes from activist athletes like Muhammad Ali. Last fall, at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship, Osaka wore a Black face mask with white letters reading Tamir Rice.
ZORA
Bold, yet refined. A publication from Medium for Black women.
